Japan tightening the processes for new cryptocurrency exchanges

Financial Services Agency of Japan (FSA) has tightened the processes of risk checking for newly established cryptocurrency exchanges, The Japan Times reports.

As of now, registration of cryptocurrency exchanges in Japan is carried out on the basis of the Law on Payment Services, that was adopted in April 2017 to protect investors and normal users.

However, now the FSA has issued a new version of the document, adding about 400 new questions to it, that must be answered when applying for the launch of new exchanges. It is alleged that this was done: in order to see whether the cryptocurrency exchanges are doing risk assessment correctly”.

Also, FSA will now request data on meetings of boards of directors of trading platforms and info on shareholders of companies in order to check if they possibly participate in “antisocial groups”.

Worth to notice that the decision to tighten the requirements for new cryptocurrency exchanges came in August after a series of checks for the existing trading platforms.

According to FSA, now “hundreds” of companies are waiting for their applications to be considered.

Also, last month a group of Japanese cryptocurrency exchanges, members of the Association of Virtual Currency Exchange filed an official application with the proposal to form a self-regulatory organisation.